Indycar - Detroit Race Report

Best Finish of the Season so far for Lotus HVM Racing

Lotus driver Simona de Silvestro (#78 – Lotus HVM Racing) scored her best season finish in Sunday’s Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. After starting at the back of the field because of an engine change penalty, she’d worked her way up to 13th position by the time the checker flag flew.

“I think we can be pretty happy because we finished the race,” said the Swiss driver. “The guys worked really hard the whole weekend just to get the car turned around. We had a really strong racecar; we just have to work on the engine side. It’s still not where we want it to be. I hope we’ll get some updates for the next couple of races because we really need it.”

Simona drove a solid race and kept up with the rest of the field. Strategy and good driving were the keys to Lotus HVM Racing 's great finish. The team engineers called for an early pitstop on lap 11, setting the stage for De Silvestro’s race. The She ran as high as 11th at one point, and was running 13th when the team completed their second pitstop of the day on lap 37.

Lotus HVM Racing team owner, Keith Wiggins was pleased with the team's performance. "It was hard work for a 13th place finish," he said, "but on the good side, the crew did a really good job on the strategy even though we had less fuel consumption than the other guys. Simona drove a really great intelligent race. The reliability was better, so that’s a step forward and if we can get a bit more horsepower then we'll be looking good."

Shane Seneviratne, Lotus HVM Racing team manager was excited about the final result. "Finally we got a good race under our belt," he said. "Simona did a great job, the crew did a great job and we had a really good car. Lotus has stepped up a little bit, so thanks to everyone involved. We're looking forward to moving this program forward."